The Mind of Edward Gibbon (II)
1943; University of Toronto Press; Volume: 12; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.3138/utq.12.2.146
ISSN1712-5278
Autores Tópico(s)Historical Art and Culture Studies
ResumoIn the former of these two articles we examined the intellectual history of Edward Gibbon in order to discover the influences which contributed to inform his mind and thus equip him for his task as author of the Decline and Fall. We tried to estimate his obligations to the Greek and Latin classics and to modern literature, particularly the literature of eighteenth-century thought. The result was to show that, while the development of Gibbon's genius was by no means narrow or one-sided, there was one element which predominated in his intellectual discipline, and it was this which coloured, even if it did not wholly dictate, his appreciation of the issue. Gibbon wrote in the spirit and with the resources of philosophic scepticism. It was as a philosophic sceptic that he embarked on his investigation and that he reached his final verdict in the words: “I have described the triumph of barbarism and religion.” Accordingly, the next step must be to consider how the sceptical philosophy is applied by Gibbon, and to examine its value as a principle of historical interpretation. We shall begin by raising at once the vexed question of Gibbon's attitude to Christianity.
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